A nanotube typically comprises a tubular object with extremely thin sidewalls. The sidewalls of such an object may, for example, only consist of a single monolayer of material. Nevertheless, the nanotube itself may have a width or diameter of several nanometers and may be several microns long. Although carbon-based nanotubes have received the most attention, nanotubes have also been made out of several other materials including boron nitride and various metal oxides.
Tubular objects such as nanotubes are of interest because of their unique mechanical properties and their potential for use in applications like energy storage, medicine, electronics, materials, optics, and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). However, most of these applications require tubular objects with physical properties that are adapted to a particular purpose. As a result, there is a need for new methods of forming tubular objects that allow physical properties such as length, width (or diameter), cross-sectional shape, and sidewall thickness to be precisely controlled.